Best gaming PC build for ~$700?

Q. My friend is looking to buy a gaming computer for $700-800. Can you guys tell me some specs or links? Thanks.

A. I built my own PC and here is my build:

Motherboard: Intel Media DH67BL
CPU: Intel i7-2600k
GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 650 Ti
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 15GB (2 x 8GB)

As for a hard drive, if you want top gaming performance, spring for an SSD. Honestly, I don't think that it will improve performance that much but people swear by it. 1.5 TB should be enough unless you like to download lots of movies. You can get a $25 Optical Drive that does everything you'd ever want so there's no need to list one by name. Make sure that your power supply is over 500 watts. Get a case that is compliant with the micro-ATX form factor and that has lots of airflow because EVGA is known for making things that can run a bit hot. I know a site that will find you the cheapest prices for all of your components, but I'm not allowed to post links until I reach a certain level on yahoo answers, so please give me lots of points for this so I can post the site.

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Building a Gaming Computer?

Q. So, I have a fairly low budget in mind ($600-$700), and I have most of the parts picked out, but I have a couple of questions. Right now, I have a case, a PSU, a CPU, a GPU, RAM, an HDD, and a motherboard picked out. All together, this totals about $650. But, my question really lies with the CPU. Currently, with my $650 build, I have an i5-2400 which was $190. However, I could get an AMD Phenom II X4 965 BE for $92, and just overclock it to around 4.2GHz, and spend the other $100 on upgrading from a 7850 to a 7950. Which do you think would make more sense? By the way, I play on 1920x1080, so the extra video RAM that the 7950 offers will actually make some difference. I want an expert's opinion on what I should do. I want this computer to be somewhat "future proof", allowing me to play all games on at least medium settings for the next three or four years. Right now, I know that with either setup I can play any game 1920x1080 with ultra settings 40+ FPS, but the future is what I need optimal components for. By the way, I'd just like to add that gaming is the only demanding application I use. I don't edit, render, or any of that stuff.

A. AMD Phenom II X4 965 BE, FX-4100, and i3-2100 are competing budget CPUs with equivalent performance. You may be slightly better with the Phenom, but you would be top-ended, not future-proof. The question is what will bottleneck. I believe the forums say that somewhere at GTX 560 the CPU starts to bottleneck and the higher graphics you go, the more the CPU is limiting your frames per second. The i5-3570K is the chief of gaming CPUs. You can pair it with anything and not bottleneck. You can overclock it with a Z75 (no Intel RST HDD accelerate) or Z77 (all the bells and whistles). If you buy a motherboard with two pcie 3.0 x 16 slots, you start with one graphics card and aim to crossfire it when money permits. Do you want a system at a brick wall? Start with the Phenom or FX-4100. Clock is not the only determining factor. It is how the CPU handles instructions. Intel has leaped over AMD in CPUs.
Use http://pcpartpicker.com/
and fit the best you can and upgrade later.
Single rail 80 plus PSU with power for crossfiring. Motherboard for crossfiring, 1155 type MB hopefully Panther Point.
Or, look at a couple of nice Newegg Combo deals:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1068426
$529.99 -30 rebate, plus graphics card and windows
There are other combo deals around.
Core i5-3570K - The best CPU
ASUS P8Z77-V LK - Excellent MB
COOLER MASTER HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN3-GP - Nice case
COOLER MASTER eXtreme Power Plus RS700-PCAAE3-US 700W - +12V@52A
G.SKILL Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 1.5V
Hi-Rez Studios Gift - Tribes Ascend Game Coupon

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